Manual Lifecycle

What this C++ object lifecycle question tests

This is a medium-difficulty C++ question that probes your understanding of constructor and destructor semantics, object initialization order, and how the language manages memory and control flow during object creation and destruction. Quant shops use questions like this to verify that candidates can reason precisely about code behaviour without running it.

To solve it, you need to trace the execution path carefully: identify which constructors and destructors are called, in what order they execute, and what side effects (like print statements) occur at each stage. The question rewards attention to detail and familiarity with C++ rules around object lifetime, temporary objects, and scope.

• Constructor and destructor call order
• Stack vs. heap allocation semantics
• Temporary object lifetime
• RAII and resource management